Refuse To Reinvent The Wheelhttps://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com
All the ideas are out there, just find a way to make them work for you!Thu, 22 Feb 2018 21:57:06 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://s2.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngRefuse To Reinvent The Wheelhttps://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com
I Refuse to Be An Armed Teacherhttps://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/2018/02/22/i-refuse-to-be-an-armed-teacher/
https://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/2018/02/22/i-refuse-to-be-an-armed-teacher/#respondThu, 22 Feb 2018 21:55:14 +0000http://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/?p=877Continue reading →]]>I have been getting asked more and more whether or not I, as a teacher, would be willing to have a gun (either on me or locked in my classroom) in case of a shooting at school. But this has gone beyond people here and there asking what I think. Recently several politicians (you know who they are…right?) have publicly stated that arming teachers will put an end to the mass shootings that have been experienced by over 150,000 American students since Columbine in 1999. Yes, I specifically heard them say teachers. They are not talking about having police or armed guards in schools, that’s a different topic.

We are getting mixed signals. Teachers are told not to break up or get in the middle of a fist fight. “Call the administrator or school officer” we are told. And yet, it seems that many people outside of schools are saying that we should be breaking up school shootings. This would be significantly more dangerous. So which is it? Stay out of dangerous situations and wait for trained professionals or get yourself in there and risk getting injured (or worse…)?

So here is my response to whether or not teachers should be armed: NO. Here’s why.

1. There are plenty of teachers that have mental health issues. A lot of them. Some have full blown illnesses such as bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, etc. Others are just stressed to the max. Either way, as a group our mental well being isn’t the most stable. And that’s easily understandable given the difficult climate of education right now. We are not talking about issues that would stop us from being able to teach, but we also keep saying that guns shouldn’t be in the hands of people with mental issues. So if teachers with mental illness are not able to carry guns, will that affect their ability to get hired? What if all the teachers in the school have some kind of mental issue? Then that school just doesn’t get protected?

2. Where will the time to train and practice for these scenarios come from? I have heard the argument that “police don’t train that much either”, but I don’t think that’s any excuse. So let’s say that teachers have to do annual training. Assuming this country is not asking us to give up our precious, already limited time with our families and friends, this would have to be time we are currently devoting to teaching. Is that really the best use of our professional development time? What will we be giving up in order to make time for this? Will this mean we are less concerned about preparing our kids for post-secondary education or The Almighty Tests? I’m not a police officer. I’ve never even shot a gun. But I know there is a big difference between practice shooting at the range and training for an event like we are experiencing in American schools. This would not be a one time training and then hope your skills are sharp if/when you need them. So either we are asking teachers to give up more of their personal time, give up time in the classroom, or give up professional development time that would otherwise be used to make us better educators. If this country is truly concerned about our education system pumping out kids who are prepared for adulthood, I’m not sure which of those options is going to get us there.

*And please note here, I am not saying that teachers who want to carry their gun or have a gun locked away at school are in the wrong. I have talked with many teachers who have expressed they would be comfortable and willing to do it. They are typically teachers who already own guns and are comfortable using them. But I don’t think we can rely on that. Again, what if there’s a school where no one volunteers to be “that” teacher? Does that school just have to go without the same protective measures that others are getting? Will “are you comfortable being ‘that’ teacher?” be on applications now?

3.Teachers are biased. We have relationships with our students. It is one of the best, and yet most difficult, things about being a teacher. Often times, the shooters are current or former students of the school under attack. If a teacher has to put their head around a corner and decide whether or not to shoot the kid walking down the hall, that will be an incredibly difficult decision. What if it’s a kid who was in the bathroom when the lockdown started and now they are frantically jiggling door handles trying to find a room to hide in? What if they are actually the shooter? In the second or two it may take the teacher to decide whether or not to pull the trigger, it may be too late. Can you imagine the mental trauma a teacher will walk around with for the rest of their life if they shoot the wrong kid? Not to mention that the actual shooter is still active. Or what if the shooter is a student we had a bond with and we wait too long to make that decision? If teachers wanted to put themselves in a position of deciding whether or not to shoot people, we would have gone into some type of law enforcement. Assuming that because a teacher goes to the shooting range as a hobby or is a hunter they will be able to make these on the spot decisions is ignorant.

4. Public schools are government facilities and should be protected as other government facilities are. No one is asking lawyers or judges to carry guns in courthouses. Senators and their staff don’t protect the capitol building themselves. Why should teachers/principals/custodians have to? I have spent time at a government research facility. Just to get into the visitor center, we had to go through metal detectors, have our bags searched, have our IDs scanned, be on a guest list, and have a guest pass on us (all of which was after your car was searched at the parking lot gate). Now I’m not saying this is what needs to happen at every school around the country. But I am pointing out that there is a HUGE discrepancy in how we protect different facilities. There are certainly other steps we could take to protect schools instead of arming teachers. There is a reason that different careers have different job descriptions. No one person can do it all. We don’t ask police officers to offer counseling sessions to the people they arrest. We don’t ask judges to educate people about the harmful effects of drugs. We delegate these tasks and all work together. But for some reason, people think teachers can do it all.

5. To me, the biggest issue is that arming teachers or principals or custodians or any other human in a school, if it goes correctly and according to plan, will only protect schools. The deadliest mass shooting in modern US history was at a concert venue in Las Vegas. The shooter in this event killed 58 innocent people. Roughly a year prior to that, nearly 50 people were killed in a shooting at an Orlando nightclub. Another 20 people were killed at their Sunday morning church service in Sutherland Springs, TX. We can’t arm schools and just hope for the best everywhere else. It’s just not fair. Yes, schools are government facilities, and should be protected as such. But we should also be doing something to stop these shootings from happening no matter what the location. I’ve heard many people say that arming teachers isn’t just about stopping an in-progress shooting, but scaring shooters off in the first place. “These shooters are cowards and want an easy target.” But what about all the other “easy” targets? If given the chance, they will still cause harm somewhere else. They’re not just going to see teachers armed, hang up their gun and call it a day.

6. Last but not least, I would just like to point out that when someone outside of education tells teachers they need to be armed, it feels a lot like saying that teachers aren’t trying hard enough. And maybe this is just me being sensitive. But the fact that people think I, as a teacher, am the solution means that whatever I am doing right now isn’t good enough. People are suggesting that I’m not doing “everything I possibly can” to protect those students in my room. That honestly brings tears to my eyes. And that may not be what these people think they are suggesting. They may think it’s just that: “a suggestion”. But what it really says it that somehow, it has become the teachers’ responsibilities to take on this gigantic, societal problem. We often have to buy our own supplies, give up time with our families and friends to work on what we have to get done, stress over whether or not we are doing enough to help each and every kid (not just academically), and now we are also being asked to stop shootings. I have to admit I am more than a little hurt and insulted. When is someone else (or something else- looking at you government) going to step up and take this one off our plates? There are a LOT of other possible solutions to this mass shooting epidemic we are in the middle of. We have to look at the options and throw out the bad ones. Focus our time and energy on solutions that are logical, possible, and will address the problem as a whole; not just one piece of it. Arming teachers is an option. But it’s not a good one.

I do appreciate you hearing me out. If you haven’t done so already, register to vote and be in frequent contact with your legislators (at all levels) no matter what you think the solution is. They need to know what we think. Having arguments on social media or writing blog posts is a great way to put your ideas out there, but these ideas need to go to the people that can do something about it. At the end of the day, we are all in this crisis together and have to keep the discussion going to come up with a solution. Feel free to leave civilized comments, I would love to hear your perspective.

Thanks for stopping by.

]]>https://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/2018/02/22/i-refuse-to-be-an-armed-teacher/feed/0aubreymikosIf You Want To Know, Just Ask!https://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/2018/02/18/if-you-want-to-know-just-ask/
https://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/2018/02/18/if-you-want-to-know-just-ask/#respondSun, 18 Feb 2018 20:21:37 +0000http://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/?p=875Continue reading →]]>Who doesn’t love creating/giving/evaluating a good pre-assessment? Not this teacher. But we all know we need to know a baseline for our students. We can assume what our students know about a unit. We can have an idea what they should know based on vertical alignment and what was taught (hopefully) in previous grades. But let’s be honest, we don’t really know. So we give kids some kind of pre-test. In many evaluation models (for teachers, not kids), pre-tests are required to be a certain number of questions or a certain format. This makes it tough to really see where students are starting from.

And so I say “If you want to know, just ask!”. A multiple choice test might show me which terms they do or do not know, but it doesn’t show me if they can apply those terms. These tests also don’t tell me if they know the concept, but not the terms… or they have no clue on even the big picture. My new favorite pre-assessment is giving kids a slip of paper and telling them “tell me everything you know about “such and such topic”. What they write will BLOW YOUR MIND.

For example, I recently started teaching astronomy. So, I asked kids to tell me what they knew about the Big Bang Theory. I did not expect them to have the dates right or maybe think there was actually a giant explosion. And some kids wrote things that were scientifically accurate. Other wrote things like this:

And my personal favorite:

Even more concerning, in my high school astronomy class (students in grades 10-12) I had several students write something like this:

And that’s fine. But it completely blind sided me. It’s one thing for students to have misconceptions, but a whole other ball of wax when they’ve never even heard of it! Can you imagine if I gave them a vocab/timeline pre-test, which most of them would have done very poorly on, and then just started teaching to the correct answers to that pre-test? They would have had no idea what I’m talking about. Which means they won’t learn what I intend them to learn.

I use this method a LOT. I just really really love for kids to write. Often and about lots of different things. I never ask them to spit information back. I ask them to explain things. I ask them to write whatever they think. Many students (especially our high level kids who are really good at memorizing) struggle with this. They need the practice. So if you need an exact pre & post test, just have them answer that question again at the end. Sure, it’s harder to assess growth than “they improved from 30% to 70% of the questions correct”. But it is so easy to see the progress. They will not write “Nothing” at the end.

Just for fun (and pure terror), here are some other things students have written on that first round.

Q: What questions do you have about stars?

A1: How many have we visited so far?

A2: Why can’t we go to them and study what they’re made of?

A3: Do they really grant wishes? (I like to hope this was a joke…. but you never can tell.)

Q: Tell me what you know about stem cells.

A: They are the cells in a plant’s stem. (Something along these lines was written by over half of my 9th grade students…)

Let’s not expect our kids to be at a certain level. If they’re there great, if not we need to know and meet them where they are! And the easiest way to tell, is to just ask them. They will tell you exactly what you need to know pretty much every time.

I’d love to hear what questions you ask students. And if you want to share your funny (and sometimes scary) answers, I’d love that too! =)

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!

]]>https://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/2018/02/18/if-you-want-to-know-just-ask/feed/08FD186B9-2424-4417-9B98-CC0F2BC7ABE4aubreymikosEFC7A057-D295-4831-BB87-F4EDCC033B0115662052-4D80-4C5B-935F-2D09F93C313CCD2E02F7-6164-478B-BF58-675625B4D4ACC02C81A6-7AB8-4341-B56E-CABCC3E59551C8C322DB-9D28-4B40-8D59-ABBEA6C263AE8FD186B9-2424-4417-9B98-CC0F2BC7ABE4Teachers Deserve Deliciousnesshttps://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/2018/01/20/teachers-deserve-deliciousness/
https://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/2018/01/20/teachers-deserve-deliciousness/#respondSat, 20 Jan 2018 20:45:41 +0000http://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/?p=838Continue reading →]]>I know I usually write about teaching. But do you guys know what else I love? I really love food. I do not skip meals. But I do eat breakfast in my car on the way to school. When I first started teaching, I would buy a bunch of frozen breakfasts and lunches. I gave Lean Cuisine and Chef Boyardee and Hot Pockets a whole bunch of money. Then it occurred to me (with some help from Pinterest, of course) that I could just freeze leftovers from my dinner and eat it later. I also started making big breakfasts on the weekends and freezing those leftovers. This has actually saved me money and I get tons of yummy food to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

This dish has it all- pasta, chicken, veggies, wine, CHEESE. And all you need is 1 pot. It does take a little time to make, but it makes a huge amount of food. I fed this to my family the other night and still had enough leftover to freeze 4 servings!

You know what I love about this one? Not only is it creamy & delicious, it’s a crock pot soup. Which means I come home and dinner is done (and my house smells amazing!). I just dump all the ingredients in the crock pot the night before, throw the whole pot in the fridge, and then take it out and turn it on before I leave in the morning. You seriously have to try this recipe. It is soooo good. And it’s just as good when you thaw it and have it for lunch!

Writing this post is really making me realize how much I love pasta. And Chicken. I’m ok with that. This one is pretty easy to whip up and doesn’t take much time. I also make a bunch of bacon every Sunday and then throw it in the fridge for the rest of the week. So it’s one less step to complete when cooking up this pasta dish. It’s great!

This one is great because it can actually be frozen twice- once before it’s cooked and then again after! It is one of my go-to’s anytime a friend has a baby and I’m bringing them a frozen meal. Put it all together in a pan and then they can thaw/cook whenever they want it. No pasta this time, but crunchy stuffing topping!

Onto breakfast….. I keep it pretty simple. I make massive quantities of scrambled eggs and freeze individual portions. I made a bunch of bacon and throw it in the fridge. In the morning, I can take a few pieces and microwave them for about 15 seconds and I’m ready to go. I have even frozen individual portions of hollandaise sauce to pour over eggs with an english muffin cut up on top. I love them all. But here are some specials that I make from time to time….

I am a huge fan of baking eggs. This is where that all started for me. The little pie crusts give the eggs a delicious little package and are so much easier than trying to make breakfast sandwiches. You can also switch up the ingredients for whatever makes you happy. I love chopping up some green pepper and adding that in.

When they’re done cooking, I individually wrap them in plastic wrap and throw them all in a bag. Keep it simple!

These are a great way to get some fruit and some sweets while still eating pretty healthy! My kids also love to get in on the prepping with these. I let them pick their own toppings and they think that’s great! Cook ’em, freeze ’em, thaw ’em, eat ’em. SO GOOD. And easy to eat in the car. =)

Final Suggestion-

Use glass containers to freeze your food, not plastic. This way when you thaw it and throw it in the microwave, they don’t melt. Even the microwave safe plastic ones start to break down pretty quick. Sure, the glass ones are a little more expensive… but I promise you they will last so much longer. And don’t be tempted to buy huge containers, keep them in individual portions. That way all you have to do is take it out of the freezer a day or two before you want to eat it (I actually pull 3 or 4 out each Sunday night), throw it in the fridge, then grab and go on the day of. Something like this should do just fine.

If you have other freezer meals you love, please share in the comments below! Thanks for stopping by. =)

]]>https://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/2018/01/20/teachers-deserve-deliciousness/feed/0One-Pot-Garlic-Tuscan-Chicken-Mac-And-Cheese-IMAGE-119aubreymikosOne-Pot-Garlic-Tuscan-Chicken-Mac-And-Cheese-IMAGE-119Slow-Cooker-Creamy-Taco-Soup-easiest-soup-everpastachickenHam-and-Cheese-Mini-Breakfast-Pies-11017CaptureThe Tallest Tower Winshttps://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/2018/01/10/the-tallest-tower-wins/
https://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/2018/01/10/the-tallest-tower-wins/#respondWed, 10 Jan 2018 04:15:59 +0000http://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/?p=859Continue reading →]]>Second semester is here again! I really love to use that first day back to get the kids up, moving, and being creative. But I know they need to ease back into school… no heavy content just yet. My go to used to be the Ultimate Bubble Blowing Champion. But I recently switched schools. So I now have a strict no food in the classroom policy… bubble gum is a definite no no. I thought of using those marshmallow & spaghetti towers that I’ve heard so much about, but that involved food too. So I had to get creative.

I really liked the idea of having them build a tower, so I did some tweaking and made it work. Overall, it took a little less than 30 minutes from start to finish (so this would be great for those short schedule days right before a break, too!). Here’s the marhmallow challenge powerpoint I used to explain this to my kids. It has the instructions, student groups (I grouped them “strategically random”), and then I set a timer for 20 minutes on the projector (I was worried that would be too long, but there were definitely still kids working when time was up). I like Online Stopwatch, super simple. Each group gets 20 toothpicks, a container of Playdoh (or a half depending on how many groups you have…), and a yard of tape. Then off they go!

It’s interesting to watch them work… each group will start out a little differently. Some make more 3D type bases, some just go for straight height. But they all have to figure out that combination of height and stability because no one can be touching the tower when its height is measured.

Eventually they will peak around at other groups, see one that is looking successful and start tailoring their’s to match. And I tell them that’s fine! “Figure out how to make your’s better!”

What I love about little activities like these towers are that they’re low risk and will get kids to just TRY. This is a great way to let kids dip their toes into engineering before we start up the big projects (like the Bioinspired Houses & the EcoFriendly Dreamhouses)!

How do you like to get your kids back in the swing of things? Leave your ideas in the comments….. and Thanks for stopping by! =)

]]>https://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/2018/01/10/the-tallest-tower-wins/feed/07889A958-FBFF-4C4B-A9E1-F31E35BA1FB7aubreymikosB8FB4BBB-4CBD-4289-9528-7BDAF4DB3F2592C9DF31-807C-478E-9BFE-2F56A83F6A6F2B156227-9530-423C-B118-F6216CAC0443Am I Secretly a Techie?https://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/2018/01/05/am-i-secretly-a-techie/
https://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/2018/01/05/am-i-secretly-a-techie/#respondFri, 05 Jan 2018 03:48:04 +0000http://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/?p=846Continue reading →]]>I have been stating for a while that I am not a techie. But I recently switched from a 1-1 school to a non 1-1 school. And I am quickly realizing just how much I did use tech in my teaching. Yes, I used a lot of student tools…. but I used a lot of things for myself too! And the other thing that I’m finding is that there are a lot of other teachers out there who are also not techies. So I now feel like I have some responsibility to share my knowledge that I didn’t know I had…

First up: how to make a playlist on YouTube! I know that a lot of you (and probably most of our students) already know how to do this, but I just figured this out and am assuming there are a lot of teachers not utilizing these playlists yet. They are really simple to make/share and honestly come in so handy! I use them for class videos…. but I use them much more often for music. I have some playlists that are school appropriate, some I use to get me through binge grading, and others for my (biological) kids to rock out to when we get home.

Before we get to instructions…. if you’re wondering what I’m talking about, a YouTube playlist is a list of videos that you want to save altogether. I used to download all my YouTube videos so that I had them. I could store all the files according to unit and that was a huge, time consuming, space consuming pain in the butt. So instead, you can create a playlist for each unit and YouTube stores them for you. Added bonus- you can copy the link and share it with whoever you want (students, friends, other teachers on my Facebook page….).

OK, How To Make a YouTube Playlist

1. Go to YouTube. You have to sign in (if you have any Google account, like gmail, you’re good). If you’re not already signed in, you will see “SIGN IN” in red letters in the upper right corner.

2. Go to whatever YouTube video that you want to save. Under the video, almost dead center on the page, you will see three little lines with a + sign (in the red box on the pic below). Click that and the list pops up. If you haven’t already made playlists you will have to click “Create New Playlist”.

3. Type in whatever you want to name your playlist. Then choose your privacy setting. If this is a list you intend to share with people, whether students or friends, go with Public or Unlisted. I usually use unlisted, then I can post a link to the playlists for my students on our class site. Then click CREATE and there it is!

4. That new list should now be in your list. Check the box and that specific video is in your playlist. You do have to click somewhere else on the page or that annoying box will stay there… Repeat this process anytime you have a video you want to save.

5. How do you find your playlists later? Go to YouTube and sign in. On the left side you will see your “Library” and under that should be all your playlists. Click the one you want to watch/listen to.

6. From here, you can see all the videos in the playlist you chose. You can click on specific videos if you know which one you want. If you click on the little “X arrows” under the title, it will play the videos in a random order (I use this for my music playlists). This is also where you can share your playlist from. Just copy the URL on this page and paste it into whatever you want. I use this on my class websites instead of posting links to individual videos.

I hope this was helpful. If you’re looking for a list of my favorite biology YouTube videos, this should keep you occupied…. There is so much that YouTube can do, I know I am just scratching the surface. If you have other tricks or tips, please share them in the comments. Thanks for stopping by! =)

It’s that time of year: gift giving season. The gift buying seems to start earlier and earlier each year, so I hope I’m not too late. First things first, please hear this: TEACHERS DO NOT EXPECT TO RECEIVE GIFTS FROM THEIR STUDENTS. Please-Please-Please do not feel like you have to give your childrens’ teacher(s) a gift this time of year.

Having said that, I know that there are many parents that like to give teacher gifts. All gifts are appreciated, whether they are inexpensive or not, homemade or store bought, personalized or not. Your kid may or may not have had anything at all to do with the gift. But we do know that no matter what the gift is, it probably means that the parent took the time and energy to think about their child’s teacher and give them a token of their appreciation. And so on behalf of all teachers (I think…), THANK YOU. We truly appreciate the gesture.

As a mom myself, I see post after post on social media “mom groups” about what to give a teacher. I write the same response pretty much every time. A sincere thank you card from the student or the parent trumps every single other gift. I have a stack in my drawer that I have received over the last 10 years. I will never ever get rid of them. Those little pieces of folded paper remind me of the kids I’ve worked with and pick me back up when I’m having a rough day (or week… or semester). You do not have to buy a single thing to make an impact.

But if you are one of the parents who want to give a traditional “gift” (which again, we do not expect you to be), I would like to offer you my “teacher approved” suggestions.

Teachers buy a lot of their own supplies. And every teacher has their favorite. You cannot go wrong with pens! Seriously, it might seem silly…. but teachers really really really love their pens. I once went on a rant in class about how much I hated a certain pen in my desk. Then all the kids wanted to try it for themselves. Most agreed it was awful.

Get creative. Ask your kid what their teachers use a lot of (also a good way to get them to pay attention in class… just saying). Your gift doesn’t have to be holiday themed.

Check to see if your child’s teacher has a Donors Choose page. If you’ve never heard of Donor’s Choose, it’s a website that allows teachers to ask for donations to fund classroom projects and activities. This will definitely be a useful gift! You might even feel like making a donation to another teacher in your child’s teacher’s honor. Yes, teachers appreciate when you help out other teachers!

And for those of you who would rather give a gift card, don’t go crazy. We don’t expect you to buy us a four star meal or a week’s worth of groceries. Enough for a cup of coffee is plenty. Or even better, somewhere we can buy class supplies! Did you know Michael’s & Barnes & Noble give teacher discounts? DOUBLE GIFT! =)

Don’t go crazy this holiday season, it’s not a contest. Spend your time and money with your children. Seriously. That is the gift that keeps on giving!

If you have other suggestions or comments, please leave them below. Thanks for stopping by!

]]>https://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/2017/12/06/what-do-teachers-really-want/feed/0flairaubreymikosflairpapermate.JPGpersonalpost itsdry.JPGMaking Learning Visualhttps://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/2017/11/19/making-learning-visual/
https://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/2017/11/19/making-learning-visual/#respondSun, 19 Nov 2017 21:01:51 +0000http://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/?p=824Continue reading →]]>For those of us that are teaching science using the NGSS, we know the importance of students creating and using models. I’ve recently been using them in place of (or at least in addition to) taking notes. We all have those kids who are just crazy artistically talented. But even those who aren’t can get something out of drawing their thoughts and notes instead of writing them. I also love that this method allows kids to show their progress, both to me AND themselves. Some teachers have students draw a model at the start of the unit and then again at the end. For this particular method, I have them do it several times in one class period.

Here’s how I do it:

1. Give the kids a blank piece of white paper and have them fold it into 4 boxes (“hamburger” style twice…). They number the boxes 1-4. In the first box, have them draw their current understanding of whatever topic or process they are going to learn about. I tell them to use whatever labels they know and add as much detail as they can. If they aren’t sure whether or not something’s right, DRAW IT ANYWAY! This isn’t about being right or wrong, it’s about thinking…. In the example below, we were learning about the structure of the sun.

2. When everyone is done, I show a short video and tell them to jot some notes down on the back of their paper. They should note things that are not on their current model or that are different from their current model. I like to use a goofy song or maybe something a little below grade level (I teach high school) for this one. This way students who had a pretty limited understanding to start with can get caught up without feeling overwhelmed or “dumb” for not knowing it. Plus, let’s be honest- they actually love educational songs. =)

3. After the video, they draw a new model in box 2. It has to be more detailed than the first one they drew.

4. When everyone is done, I show another video and students take more notes. This one is more appropriate for our grade level and more detailed. I’m a huge fan of the Crash Course channel for these. Videos are usually about 10 minutes long and cover a variety of details (some of which were already in the first video for anyone who missed them the first time around).

*I think it’s really important with both videos NOT to tell students specifically what to write down. This way they don’t feel pressured to write down every detail or like they’re not doing it right (that last part is so important to engagement!). I find that they will write down what they need.

5. After the video, they draw a final model using information from the last video. This should be the most detailed drawing. I encourage students to use labels and colors on this one, too.

6. No more videos. In box 4, I ask students to write how their understanding of the concept changed from box 1 to 3. I tell them to do more than just tell me what they added (I can see that for myself). What I want to know is WHY they added to or changed their models. Were there things they didn’t know before? Did they find they had misconceptions? Was it just a matter of learning the right words to what they already knew? This step is sooooo important for the students. They are so focused on showing what they know that they don’t want to stop and think about what they don’t know. And if they don’t ask themselves what they don’t know, how will they learn to learn???

Here are the finished products:

OK, I know some of you want to know if/how I grade these. Yes, I do give points for them. Let’s be honest, it increases effort and decreases the number of kids who won’t even try. I don’t make it worth a lot of points (equal to about half of a homework assignment). If their model increases in detail and their box 4 explains their thought process, they get all the points. Simple.

I definitely recommend you give this a shot. I do still come back after this and do class notes to make sure everyone got all the info that I want them to have, but it makes it so much easier when they already have most of it. And then they are prepared to discuss and ask questions instead of me just standing in front of the class lecturing.

If you do something similar or try this out, I’d love to hear about it in the comments! Thanks for stopping by! =)

Just to recap- because I love all my readers and FB likers so much, I am giving you a code that gets you $5 off EVERYSINGLEPIECE you buy from Megan Rusek’s LulaRoe group starting Wednesday, November 8th through Friday, November 10th (2017!). If you know and love LulaRoe, great! If you’ve never tried it… now’s the time! If it’s not for you… what about your adorable kids? Why not, it’s on sale? =)

“Get to the code, Mikos.” OK- here it is: Refuse to Reinvent the Wheel appreciates me. Send Megan a message with that code and you get $5 off all the Lula.

DON’T FORGET! I will be raffling off LulaRoe gift cards on my Facebook page all week… If you haven’t already “liked” it, get to it to be eligible to win!

I am so very thankful that anyone wants to read what I write. I appreciate all of the teachers out there who give me their feedback, collaborate, and inspire me. As a small token of my gratitude, I have posted a giveaway on my Facebook page at Thanksgiving the past 2 years. (BTW- if you haven’t checked out and “liked” my Facebook page, stop on by! I am much more active there because I have time to write 1 sentence much more often than full blog posts. Click here!)

The past 2 years I raffled off custom lanyard keychains in the winner’s school colors. This year, I’m upping my game! A friend of mine recently started selling LulaRoe…. she is married to a teacher, so we can trust her. She has agreed to do a LulaRoe sale sponsored by Refuse to Reinvent the Wheel. Ok, I know. I’m giving you the opportunity to spend money…. that’s the opposite of a raffle.

Stay. With. Me.

For the 3 days of the sale (November 8-10, mark your calendars), I will have a “discount phrase” posted here on my blog. If you send her a message with that code, you will get $5 off EVERY PIECE you buy!! AAANNNNDDDDD- I will be raffling off TWO gift certificates for LulaRoe from Megan Rusek on my Facebook page (seriously, go like it now!). So there, that’s how much I love you! =)

In Conclusion : If you haven’t seen/liked me Facebook page, here it is. Go join Megan Rusek’s LulaRoe Facebook group so that you’re ready when the big day comes. Mark your calendars for the LulaCash giveaways and sale on November 8-10.

As always, THANKS for stopping by! =)

]]>https://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/2017/10/28/its-almost-giveaway-time/feed/1aubreymikosso-very-thankfulMy Favorite Use of Wikipediahttps://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/2017/10/21/my-favorite-use-of-wikipedia/
https://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/2017/10/21/my-favorite-use-of-wikipedia/#respondSat, 21 Oct 2017 03:13:55 +0000http://refusetoreinventthewheel.wordpress.com/?p=746Continue reading →]]>Do your students just love Wikipedia? Do they love competitions? Do you want to see how much they know about a topic before you start and are sick of pre-tests? Are you looking for opportunities to further challenge your students that finish their work early or who are ready to move on while others in the class need another round of review?

If your answer to any of those questions was yes, then this is the blog post for you! Once again, this is not my original brain child. I don’t remember exactly where I heard about this, so if it was you then thanks. There are so many ways that you can use this technique and your students will find it strangely addicting.

I call these Wiki Relays. The idea is to get from one Wikipedia page to another in as few links as possible. Seems simple enough, right? The trick is you have to go in ahead of time and make sure there are no direct links between the two pages. This forces students to think about which links they should click that might take them in the right direction.

For example, if the task was to get from the Wikipedia page on dogs to the one on elephants:

Here’s the page on dogs. There are no direct links you can click to take you to the page on elephants. But maybe you click the link to “Mammalia”….

There’s no text/word link to elephants… but students might figure out that the pictures are links too! And what do we have here? A picture of elephants! CLICK.

And in 2 clicks, here we are on a Wikipedia page on elephants. That would be the shortest number possible.

You would think that the more students know about a topic, the shorter the number of clicks because they should know which ones will lead them in the right direction. But sometimes the link they think will get them there doesn’t… and around and around they go. They get frustrated, but can’t stop. It can actually be quite entertaining to watch. And what the kids don’t see is that you are watching their every click in the name of formative assessment! Have them write down every page they click on so that you can see who did it in the shortest number of links and give that student a prize, but also so that you can see their process. Are they just randomly clicking links? Do they have any idea what the connection between the blood and iron is? Do they know a lot about that connection and can’t decide which link will be the best?

Added bonus- you can introduce students to the Ctrl+F function (also known as how I got through graduate school). Instead of reading (change that- skimming) the entire page, if they think they know a word that might connect the two pages they can just use Ctrl+F to search for it! It’s such a valuable tool that hopefully they will take into other digital research assignments too!

Have you used Wiki Relays in your classes? I’d love to hear about it in the comments. Thanks for stopping by! =)